Ricardo Plc Regulatory News (RCDO)

19 May 2014

Ricardo plc

Interim Management Statement

Ricardo plc ('Ricardo' or 'the Group') is a global, multi-industry environmental and engineering consultancy, with a value chain from strategy and engineering through to niche production. Our client list includes the world's major transportation Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), supply chain organisations, energy companies, financial institutions and governments.

Ricardo is today providing an Interim Management Statement for the period 1 January 2014 to the date of this release. The results for the full year ending 30 June 2014 will be announced on 11 September 2014.

The order book at the end of April is strong at £141m, compared to £130m at the same time last year, benefiting from a good level of orders in April in the US. The order intake in the ten months to April was £215m compared to £186m in the same period of the prior year.

Significant orders won in the last four months include orders in the US in respect of a large engine project for a major passenger car OEM, a further DARPA order in the US defence sector and a commercial vehicle engine programme. Orders in the UK include further passenger car orders for large OEMs, and in Performance Products orders include the pre-production phase of the new McLaren contract together with further motorsport transmissions.

The pipeline is encouraging with a number of projects for Chinese customers that are in the latter stages of negotiation and passenger car opportunities in the UK, US and Germany. In addition, we are pleased to announce that we have further underpinned our Performance Products business with the signing of a multi-year production supply agreement with total revenue expected to be in excess of £35m, commencing in financial year 2015/16. The customer wishes to remain anonymous at this time. As with many Performance Products contracts, such as the recently announced record McLaren contract, the full value of the contract is not reflected in the order intake or the order book.

Total Group revenue in the ten months to April 2014 is up 3% on the same period in the prior year and profit is tracking in line with full year expectations. In terms of our business segments, Performance Products continues to perform well and within Technical Consulting our third quarter revenue in the UK has been slightly lower than expected due to a delay of certain orders. Ricardo-AEA and Ricardo Strategic Consulting continue to perform well and in line with expectations. In Germany and the US we are building momentum with the order book in each location significantly ahead of the prior year.

The Group continues to maintain a robust balance sheet, with a positive net cash position, despite working capital increasing with the changing mix of our customer base and the growth of Performance Products, as noted at the half year.

Dave Shemmans, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are pleased with the order intake, order book and current pipeline across the Group, with recent orders in the US, opportunities in China and activity in the passenger car market particularly encouraging. Performance Products continues to grow and the announcement of another new multi-year supply agreement provides further long-term visibility. Overall, we remain confident of continued progress for the full year."

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